In 1899, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's contribution to the British art world was acknowledged with a knighthood. He is pictured standing at the top table, to the left here, at a celebratory banquet held in his honour at the Whitehall Rooms, Hotel Metropole, London. With about 180 guests, almost every significant late nineteenth-century artist was present. Alma-Tadema remarked that 'without the approval of the brethren the honour would lose nearly all its attraction', exemplifying the emphasis he placed on his personal relationships. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1905.

Current affairs

George Nathaniel Curzon, Lord Curzon, is appointed Viceroy of India, pursuing a mixed policy of forceful control and conciliation. Curzon's inquiries into Indian administration result in legislation in areas including education, irrigation, and policing. The Board of Education is created to co-ordinate the work of higher grade elementary schools, county technical schools and endowed grammar schools, also setting up a register of teachers.

Art and science

The Italian Guglielmo Marconi transmits the first wireless telegraph, between France and England across the English Channel, a distance of 32 miles. Marconi's production of waves over long distances lays the foundations for the development of the radio. Later this year, Marconi demonstrates his invention in America, at the Cup yacht race, and for the American navy.

International

Outbreak of the second Boer war, fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. Despite a disastrous start, Britain quickly won the war, although guerilla warfare continued until 1902, leading to the introduction of concentration camps by British commander Lord Kitchener, a measure which contributes to the British public's growing disillusionment with the campaign.

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